October 2018

Dear Mr presidesident
We need you down here in Tennessee to stir up the Democrat base. Many do nor want Marsha Blackburn in the Senate but many voters feel that we are not important enough to get you orMr Biden here please we are begging for your last ditch effort to get this woman out of office. She has only voted one time in like 5 years and now all tennessee congress gets insurance for life because of her. We need your help bad especially since she's a millionaire. Nov 6 is coming soon we need voters in putnam Overton counties white counties all farming little manufacturing poor schooling please help! I'm begging.
Sincerely,
Claudette Youngs
400 Oak Hill road
Rickman , TN 38580
931 881 4510

Are any of you Family Guy fanatics planning on celebrating the show in costume this Halloween? There are more Family Guy costumes available than I ever even knew. Looking for one today, I saw that there's even a "woman's Brian costume" that's pretty much just a white dress with boots, ears and a martini glass! You can get masks for a lot of characters, too, like Stewie and Quagmire.

Holy Cherry Garcia, Batman. If you think your Halloween wasn't going to feature the Dead, you haven't been on Pinterest! There are so many cool Grateful Dead memes, costumes and decorations that you'll feel like you're at a concert in no time. Oh yes, there are dancing bear jack-o-lanterns! It wouldn't be Halloween without them. But there are also pumpkins with Jerry's face, other desingns and, of course, some of the coolest costumes you'll ever find.

Kermit the Frog is one of the most beloved icons of our time, and modern Kermie fans share their adoration with--what else?--meme love. The meme where Kermit quietly sips his tea is one of my personal favorites; I've seen it used as a response to so many comments and stories over the years that it's become as much of a staple as the Willy Wonka meme.

For as long as I can remember, I've always loved succulents. My grandmother kept succulents both inside and outside her house most of the year and we loved to look at her carefully-arranged terrariums, to see the little miniatures she arranged artfully around the plants. Today the cactus is one of the most popular of all plants, with an almost cult-like following. Did you know that you can even join a Cactus of the Month Club and be mailed a new cactus every single month? I'm not sure if that's insane or brilliant. Probably both!

Many of us imagine what it might be like if a meteor were to strike the earth and render us all long gone, but what about a small meteor just big enough to take out your ride? That's what happened to Michelle Knapp, 18, who thankfully wasn't in her car when a meteor struck it, creating a giant hole in the trunk. The meteor went straight through and created a hole beneath her vehicle, and she could see the smoking bowling-ball-sized rock laying in it when she peered through.

A funny video regarding moms in the 1980s versus moms today in regards to Halloween has been circulating the Internet. While some moms are saying that it's spookily accurate, others say that they think it's the opposite. The video, for example, argues that today's moms begin planning Halloween in August, crafting elaborate costumes when 1980s moms threw a sheet over their kids' heads for a quick last minute costume. The thing is, I know moms who do both now, and I knew moms who did both back in the 1980s.

I'm such a sucker for good punch. I love the traditional Hawaiian punch with some Sprite and sorbet mixed in, just like we did at cheesy school dances, but there are so many options as an adult that it can be difficult to choose which Halloween punch you want to make for your event.

As a person with new dietary needs courtesy of chronic illness, I have a much better appreciation of what it means to be excluded from food and drink socials because of what I can't put into my mouth. For people who don't drink, for whatever reason, Halloween can mean feelings of exclusion as well. Sure, it's nice to have some soda to offer everyone, but wouldn't it be amazing to also have a couple of non-alcoholic cocktails to enjoy?

China has made a major commitment to nuclear power. They are pursuing the construction of new reactors for domestic use and aggressively selling their services to construct reactors for other nations. They are pushing nuclear power in order to boost their economy and also to fight climate change.

Stripping people of their citizenship. Calling the free press "the enemy." Lying so many times every week that fact checkers can barely keep up, promoting racism, violence and sexual assault... it's only getting worse, folks, and now that Brazil's joined the fascist club, it's only a matter of time before a new Axis of Evil arises and we're going to be at the heart of it. Last week, Trump announced that he wants to take away the identity of trans people, making people their "assigned gender" at birth. This week, he says he wants to strip babies born on U.S. soil of their citizenship.

Many places have apple picking as a traditional fall pasttime. It's on the bucket list for plenty of families and individuals. Seattle in particular has the best apples, so picking in the area is almost a must-do. If you're from the area you probably already know about these must-hit orchards:

Apple Creek Farms, where you can pick your own Jonagold apples for $15 for 5-gallon buckets of apples

If you're celebrating Halloween with lots of crafting this year, try this cool project from Art Projects for Kids. You only need a few ingredients to paint these simple yet bright and eye-catching haunted houses on coffee filters. We've done this a couple of times and I always love how it turns out. We've also tie-dyed it with markers and alcohol to make some incredible designs--and not just for Halloween but for other holidays, too.

There's no shortage of horror to go around at Halloween time or any other time of year, but did you know that there are a lot of horror books written about true stories? Sure, you get books like the Amityville Horror and The Exorcist that are said to be based on real events (the Exorcist hospital is in St. Louis where I live and it's a popular local story), but proving that they're real is something altogether different.

Once upon a midnight dreary, did you read poems to your dearies? There are so many great Halloween poems to choose from that it would be a terrible waste to not introduce them to the young people in your life at this time of year! From Poe to Prelutsky, there's something for everyone to enjoy.

Whether you're answering the door and giving out candy or out taking trick-or-treaters around, sometimes it can get a little dull, especially if you're waiting for a long time. There are plenty of games you can play on Halloween to help pass the time. Here are a few ideas.

Judge the Costume. My husband and I love to pick our favorite costumes of the event as well as the month since we usually go to so many Halloween festivities. My favorite of all time was Little Dead Riding Hood. The costume must be in person (not on TV or a magazine) to qualify.

I have friends who've been ghosted. Heck, I'm married and I get ghosted all of the time by other parents who sign up to commit to something in my 4-H or homeschool groups and never tell me they're not going to show or offer an explanation later. It's super frustrating to be around other adults who can't seem to adult, but you move on. It's not fun, but it's not exactly as problematic in the dating world as, say, harassment, violence, coersion, and so forth.

Popcorn balls are all the rage during the fall, and what's not to love about the goody, portable treats that look almost as fun as they are to eat? Lots of foodies are transforming the traditional popcorn ball by tweaking the recipe and putting their own twist on the concept, and there are some really innovative approaches out there right now. A few ideas include...